Arkansas
As the ice age came to an end in present day Arkansas, native peoples began to gather in larger settlements. In time, they cleared woodlands for agricultural purposes and to accommodate population centers. The Tunica, a group of linguistically and culturally related tribes built walled towns surrounded by moats. They filled these with water diverted through the use of canals and also stocked them with fish. The Tunica eventually united with the Biloxi and today form the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. The Quapaw split off from the Dhegiha Sioux, who lived north on the Mississippi River and moved south into what is now Arkansas. French called them Arcansas, which is the origin of the name for the Arkansas River as well as the state.
